Conjugations
All six tenses and their examples are shown below. Use the links above to jump to a tense. English translations use the meaning “to march.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | défile | I march | |
| tu | défiles | you march | |
| il / elle / on | défile | he / she / it marcheson: we march / one marches | |
| nous | défilons | we march | |
| vous | défilez | you march | |
| ils / elles | défilent | they march |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Le régiment défile sur la place.
The regiment marches across the square.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai défilé | I marched | |
| tu | as défilé | you marched | |
| il / elle / on | a défilé | he / she / it marchedon: we marched / one marched | |
| nous | avons défilé | we marched | |
| vous | avez défilé | you marched | |
| ils / elles | ont défilé | they marched |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, le régiment a défilé sur la place.
Yesterday, the regiment marched across the square.
The passé composé uses avoir. The table shows the unmarked participle; agreement with a preceding direct object is outside this reference.
Back to tense navigation ↑Imperfect Imparfait
Past habits, descriptions, and actions in progress.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | défilais | I used to march | |
| tu | défilais | you used to march | |
| il / elle / on | défilait | he / she / it used to marchon: we used to march / one used to march | |
| nous | défilions | we used to march | |
| vous | défiliez | you used to march | |
| ils / elles | défilaient | they used to march |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, le régiment défilait sur la place.
Back then, the regiment used to march across the square.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | défilerai | I will march | |
| tu | défileras | you will march | |
| il / elle / on | défilera | he / she / it will marchon: we will march / one will march | |
| nous | défilerons | we will march | |
| vous | défilerez | you will march | |
| ils / elles | défileront | they will march |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, le régiment défilera sur la place.
Later, the regiment will march across the square.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | défilerais | I would march | |
| tu | défilerais | you would march | |
| il / elle / on | défilerait | he / she / it would marchon: we would march / one would march | |
| nous | défilerions | we would march | |
| vous | défileriez | you would march | |
| ils / elles | défileraient | they would march |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Le régiment défilerait sur la place.
The regiment would march across the square.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | défile | (that) I march | |
| tu | défiles | (that) you march | |
| il / elle / on | défile | (that) he / she / it marcheson: (that) we march / one marches | |
| nous | défilions | (that) we march | |
| vous | défiliez | (that) you march | |
| ils / elles | défilent | (that) they march |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que le régiment défile sur la place.
It is possible that the regiment marches across the square.
French forms omit the subject. Use j’ before a vowel sound. Vous is polite singular or plural “you”; on often means “we,” or the general “one.” English wording depends on the context: passé composé can also use “have,” and the imperfect can describe an ongoing action. Subjunctive translations here follow “it is possible that.”
Meaning & usage
- to parade or march
- to appear one after the other
- to unfold; to happen
English glosses are a starting point. The meaning of a verb can change with context, a preposition, or se. Read the full dictionary entry ↗
Meanings and simple conjugation forms adapted from English Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki.org / Wiktextract. Passé composé forms combine the source auxiliary and past participle. Frequency scores from wordfreq 3.1.1 by Robyn Speer and contributors. Adapted data is available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Entry source · Sources, download & limitations